Electric companies often have, especially in the commercial sector, rate models that are oriented not just toward overall consumption, but also toward consumption peaks, that is, according to the maximum value of (integrated) temporary consumption (likewise measured in kWh since it is related to a short time interval). Here, the current consumption is integrated over a given time unit, for example, 15 minutes, and the highest value at that time is stored. The underlying purpose of this procedure is for the energy provider to have to take into account also the supply of energy in the rate, even if the extent of the supply is not completely exhausted.
Known solutions to avoid exceeding a given maximum value during a consumption peak employ, for example, a peak load watchdog. These are consumption meters that continually measure the current consumption and trigger an alarm if the maximum is about to be exceeded. In such a case it is left up to the operator of the consumer system to reduce consumption, for example, by shutting off equipment that is not absolutely necessary. In further developed solutions, the peak load watchdogs are automated to the extent that they directly trigger the temporary shutdown of a portion of the consumer system, for example, non-time-critical consumers, such as a hot water heater.
In addition, there are also other scenarios in which it is important to avoid or compensate for peak loads. It often occurs that in a business a system needs a high level of power for only a brief time (for example, a few minutes a day), while otherwise there is generally a significantly lower level of energy consumption.
European Patent Application 1 253 696 A1 describes a supply of electricity for a load having predictable load peaks, where, based on a signal that reports a load peak, a battery is brought into circuit to prevent an overload of the normal power source (PWR). This method assumes advance knowledge of the load peak times and requires an additional signal line from the load to the supply control.
It is desired to provide a power supply that covers consumption peaks and thereby “hides” them with respect to the supply network. Of course, this is supposed to occur automatically (without intervention on the part of the operator) and without interruption of the supply of electricity to the consumer or individual consumer devices.